Jesus invites us to fill our prayers with a earnest desire for God’s name (aka ‘Father’) to be treasured above all else. This message was given on March 1, 2015 at New City Church in Calgary by Pastor John Ferguson. For more info visit: www.newcitychurch.ca

1. Seeking the Face of God
Using the Ancient Prayer
Jesus Gave Us
“Hallowed Be Your Name”
The Gospel of Matthew 6:5-14

2. Last Week’s Summary
Jesus invites us into a relationship
with God that entails the privilege of
addressing and experiencing
the Creator of the universe
as “Father.”

3. What
requests
should
dominate
our prayers
?

4. 5 And when you pray, you must not be
Matthew 6:5-13
like the hypocrites. For they love to stand
and pray in the synagogues and at the
street corner, that they may be seen by
others. Truly, I tell you, they have received
their reward. 6 But when you pray,
go into your room and shut the door

5. Matthew 6:5-13
“…and pray to your Father who is in
secret. And your Father who sees in
secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up
empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for
they think they will be heard for their
many words. 8 Do not be like them, for

6. Matthew 6:5-13
“your Father knows what you need before
you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

7. Matthew 6:5-13
11 “Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us of our debts, as
we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”
Leader: This is the word of the Lord!
People: Thanks be to God!

8. Seeking the Face of God
Using the Ancient Prayer
Jesus Gave Us
“Hallowed Be Your Name”
The Gospel of Matthew 6:5-14

9. Some Key Questions
1 What does “hallowed” mean?

10. “Hallowed”
ˈha-(ˌ,)lōd / ˈha-lə-wəd
=
(1) holy, consecrated
(2) sacred, revered

11. 1 What does
2 What’s does “hallowing” God’s
name mean?
Some Key Questions

12. “God said to Moses,
‘I am who I am.’”
~ Exodus 3:14

13. ‫יהוה‬ = YHWH
“God said to Moses,
‘I am who I am.’”
~ Exodus 3:14
“self-existent / eternal one”

14. ‫יהוה‬ = YHWH
“LORD”
“Yahweh” or “Jehovah”
“God said to Moses,
‘I am who I am.’”
~ Exodus 3:14
“self-existent / eternal one”

15. “God spoke to Moses
and sad to him, “I am the
LORD [YHWH]. I appeared
to Abraham, to Isaac, and
to Jacob, as God
Almighty [El Shaddai],
but by my name the LORD
[YHWH] I did not make
myself known to them.
~ Exodus 6:2ff

16. “I take you to be my
people, and I will be
your God, and you
shall know that I am
the LORD [YHWH]
your God.”
~ Exodus 6:2ff

17. “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is
your name in all the earth.”
~ Psalm 8:1

18. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
~ Psalm 20:7

19. “Oh magnify the
LORD with me, and
let us exalt his
name together!”
~ Psalm 34:3

20. “Ascribe to the
LORD the glory
due his name!”
~ Psalm 96

21. “You shall not take the name of the LORD
your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold
him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”
~ Exodus 20:7

22. Pop Quiz!

23. Pop Quiz!
Q. What name did Jesus give us to use
in addressing and experiencing God?

24. “What name is prominent
here in the Lord’s Prayer?
‘Father’ — ‘Abba.’ ‘Father,
hallowed be your name.’
The name that we ask to be
hallowed is Abba or Father.
This is revolutionary.

25. “Certainly God’s name as
Creator (Elohim) and his
covenant name (Jehovah),
as well as his many other
names, are to be hallowed.
But the emphasis here is
on his name as Father.
This is especially what
we pray for.”

26. “Father”
OT: 39 books = 14x
NT: 4 gospels = 60x

27. “ ‘Father’ is the
Christian name
for God.”

28. “O righteous Father,
even though the world
does not know you, I
know you, and these
know that you sent me.
I have made known to
them your name, and
will continue to make it
known…”
~ Jesus of Nazareth in
The Gospel of John, 17:25-26

29. Jesus invites us to fill our prayers
with an earnest desire for God’s
name (aka “Father”) to be
treasured above all else.
Summary

30. We hallow God our Father’s name by
believing in his Son, Jesus Christ
1

31. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God…. And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only
Son from the Father, full of grace and truth….
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is
at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”
~ The Apostle John in The Gospel of John, ch. 1

32. ~ The Apostle John in
the Gospel of John, 1:12
“But to all who did
receive him, who
believed in his
name, he gave the
right to become
children of God.”

33. “…you have received the
Spirit of adoption as sons,
by whom we cry, “Abba!
Father!” The Spirit bears
witness with our spirit that
we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs
—heirs of God and fellow
heirs with Christ….”
~ The Apostle Paul in
Romans 8:15-16

34. “Whoever does
not honour the
Son does not
honour the Father
who sent him.” ~ Jesus of Nazareth in
The Gospel of John, 5:23

35. We hallow God our Father’s name by
answering this prayer with our lives
2

36. ~ Cyprian of Carthage
(d. Sept 14, 258AD)
“We say, ‘Hallowed be
your name,’ not that
we wish for God that
he may be hallowed by
our prayers, but that
we beseech of Him
that His name may be
hallowed in us.”

37. “The plea, ‘Hallowed be your name,’ is the only
petition in the Lord’s Prayer where an explicit
act of the human heart is named. The act of
hallowing. All the other petitions serve this.
The kingdom comes for this.
God’s will is done for this.
Daily bread is for this.
Forgiveness is for this.
Escape from temptation
and evil is for this”
~ John Piper “The Deepest Desire of the Christian Heart”

39. We hallow God
our Father’s
name by
interceding
that the
world would
come to know
God as Father.
3

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